AZTECS WATCH CADETS STORM COURT

No. 22 SDSU loses for second year in a row at Air Force Academy

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. 
Michael Lyons grabbed the rebound after San Diego State’s final desperation 3 clanked off the rim, and he thrust the ball skyward as cadets at the Air Force Academy poured out of the stands, swallowing him and his teammates like an avalanche from the adjacent mountains.

The ball struck the scoreboard hanging in Clune Arena and popped loose a couple panels.

Lyons broke the scoreboard. Now we’ll find out if the Falcons broke SDSU’s spirit.

Air Force has three victories in 79 tries against Top 25 opponents, and two of them are now against San Diego State. In consecutive seasons.

Last year against an Aztecs team ranked No. 13, it was by two points. Saturday afternoon against the No. 22 Aztecs, it was by three — 70-67 despite a week of preparation and the momentum from a 21-point win over No. 15 New Mexico.

“I stressed that we can’t come in here and let them storm the court on us again,” said Jamaal Franklin, who finished four assists shy of a triple-double (25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists). “It was a tough one. A tough one.”

Losing to an Air Force team that has won five straight and is 10-1 at Clune Arena is no shame. But here’s the problem: The Aztecs (16-5, 4-3) already have three losses in the Mountain West — one at home and two against teams picked to finish in the lower half of the conference — and still have road games at Colorado State, UNLV and New Mexico.

“We’ve just got to find a way to win the next one,” SDSU coach Steve Fisher said. “Last year, we came up here and got our third straight loss. It looked like we were in bad shape, and all of a sudden we found a way to tie for the league title.”

If the loss seemed eerily similar to a year ago, that’s probably because it was. Franklin didn’t play last year with a sprained ankle, and when Garrett Green rolled his ankle in the second half the Aztecs were down to seven scholarship players.

This year, it was Xavier Thames and Chase Tapley, SDSU’s two best perimeter shooters. Thames’ bad back appeared to show improvement this week, but the junior point guard woke up and pronounced himself unable to go. Tapley missed practice all week with a swollen right wrist but wore a black brace and started.

He junked the brace at halftime in favor of tape, to no avail. He made 1 of 7 shots and didn’t score until an awkward layup with 1:44 to go.

“Chase’s wrist was really bothering him,” Fisher said. “He played with a lot of heart, knowing his stat line wouldn’t be there but knowing his presence could help the team. And I appreciate that.”

Said Tapley: “I was just trying to do whatever I could to help my team.”

That included six assists and a key steal with 52 seconds left and the Aztecs down 68-66. Tapley zipped a cross-court pass to Franklin, who was fouled and, after making 11 straight free throws, finally missed one.

“Him missing that free throw,” said Lyons, who had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists, “I think that was God looking out for us.”

Air Force (14-6, 5-2) went to the other end, ran down the shot clock and nervously looked for someone to do something. Kamryn Williams, a sophomore forward who averages 2.2 points and 8.2 minutes, ended up with the ball at the top of the key and figured, what the heck, he might as well drive.

He appeared to shuffle his feet once, then twice. No whistle.

Then he made slight contact with SDSU forward JJ O’Brien. Whistle.

Williams made both free throws to make it 70-67 with 14.5 seconds. SDSU called timeout and cleared out for Franklin, whose 3-point attempt missed but was rebounded by O’Brien and kicked it out to James Rahon (14 points) for another shot. He missed, too, cementing a 2-for-19 day by the Aztecs behind the arc.

Air Force, meanwhile, was 12 of 30 (40 percent) on 3s, including 8 of 18 in a torrid first half. But that wasn’t the most impressive part. This was: Seven different Falcons players made them.

Todd Fletcher, who entered the game making half his 3s, drained three in the space of 2:12 in the first half, and you have to wonder if that happens had Thames — SDSU’s best perimeter defender — been out there. Instead, 6-foot-8 freshman Winston Shepard was chasing the 6-2 Fletcher off screens.